The government will set up statelevel independent bodies to carry out financial and social audits of its flagship rural employment guarantee programme, which critics say is riddled with corruption. The rural development ministry will also make it mandatory for state governments to submit a report on the social audit, which unlike other government audits, allows beneficiaries of the scheme to register complaints. The move to increase transparency in the Mahatma...

Despite the much-hyped rural consumption boom and all the social sector programmes of the government, the income inequality between the rural and urban consumer widened to 91% in the first five years of the United Progressive Alliance coming to power in 2004. According to the 66th round of the household consumption expenditure survey released by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on Friday, the per capita expenditure level of the urban...

As we close in on 20 years of Manmohanomics, it's worth remembering one chant the chattering classes uttered, first with pride, later to console themselves. “Whatever you say, we have the most honest man in Dr. Manmohan Singh. And no one can speak a word against him.” It's less heard now — those affections having been transferred to other punters in the honesty sweepstakes. But growing numbers do say this...

Why is the ruling party unable to pass 3 very important bills? The National Advisory Council draws its exalted status from the fact that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi heads it. But its inability to get its way on three new Bills indicates that its influence is waning. A couple of weeks ago, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) cleared the drafts of two significant Bills — the Food Security Bill and...

The mid-term appraisal of the rural development programmes during the ongoing 11th Five-Year Plan points out several holes in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Uttar Pradesh. This not only reaffirms the public perception of poor performance of UP, but also sets aside the defence put up against scathing criticism of her government by chief minister Mayawati time and again. The development has come...